Team president Kosha Irby — a former University of Memphis defensive back who left his job as regional director of live events at WWE for the Express — and the rest of his crew are one of many cogs in what is already a sizable wheel. But he is one of many who believes that wheel has gobs of potential.

“What drew me to the (AAF) was the ability to help take a non-traditional route to a traditional product,” Irby said. “When you look at what we’re trying to do long-term and how we’re trying to reimagine the game and change how it’s consumed and produced, I wanted to be on the front end of that wave.”

'Real football by real football guys'

The league, unlike most startups, is already plenty legitimate. There are only a handful of rule alterations (no kickoffs, extra points or onside kicks and, at 35 seconds, a play clock shorter than the NFL’s 40), and many games will be broadcast nationally by the likes of CBS, TNT, NFL Network and CBS Sports Network.

The cast of decorated and respected industry veterans involved in this venture is robust, beginning with AAF co-founder and CEO Charlie Ebersol (whose father, Dick, is a former chairman of NBC Sports) and co-founder Bill Polian, a six-time NFL Executive of the Year.

Pittsburgh Steelers legends Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu are heads of football development and player relations, respectively. Mike Singletary (Memphis), Steve Spurrier (Orlando) and Mike Martz (San Diego) are among the league’s head coaches. Three-time Super Bowl champion Daryl "Moose" Johnston is general manager of the San Antonio Commanders.

And the first season will begin with plenty of name recognition filling out each teams’ roster (including former Heisman winner Trent Richardson, ex-Titans starter Zach Mettenberger, and Aaron Murray, who threw more touchdown passes at Georgia than anyone in SEC history).

Mike Perreira and Dean Blandino are listed as officiating consultants. Shaquille O'Neal, former Minnesota Vikings pro bowler Jared Allen and The Chernin Group (which owns Barstool Sports) are among the known investors.

The AAF has also gone out of its way to identify one critical difference between itself and other leagues like it that have failed to last very long: It's not interested in competing with the NFL.

"Our whole goal is just to be complementary (to the NFL)," Ward told CBS Sports last year.

Players signed to AAF rosters have already made the jump to the NFL. Josh Johnson, the top quarterback in November's Protect-or-Pick QB Draft, signed with the Washington Redskins in December and started three games. The Redskins also plucked long snapper Andrew East from the Express around the same time.

Neither is expected to return to the AAF anytime soon, which is OK by the league. As of December, fifteen players who signed Alliance contracts are on NFL rosters, and 80 have worked out with NFL teams since joining the Alliance. According to Ebersol, more than 70 percent of the AAF's 400-plus players have spent time on an NFL roster over the past 18 months.

Express General Manager Will Lewis, who played in both the NFL and USFL, has also been a coach, scout and executive in the NFL. He said he can already tell there are distinct differences between leagues that have come and gone in the past and the AAF.

“I played in the USFL and started my coaching career with NFL Europe. I got a chance to see those and this has a different feel to it,” he said. “It just feels like real football by real football guys, so to speak. Not knocking other guys, but that’s just how it feels with this league.”

'A tech company running a football league'

All well and good, but the technology is what makes the AAF unique and capable of long-term success, according to Irby and many others. The league is due to unveil its long-awaited mobile app any day.

The AAF's pitch: Its app will give viewers/customers the ability to livestream a game while also betting on pretty much anything — the velocity of a quarterback's pass, the speed of a running back, players' heart rates, etc. Bettors will be able to wager on data produced by players wearing sensors that the company's tech team will collect, relay and use to immediately update in-game gambling odds.

"The issue we have right now with sports is latency gaming. What that means is the majority of the 2.0 stats that come off, come off roughly 3 to 12 seconds after the play," Irby said. "We have the technology and the ability to get that data in 3 seconds. And we're going to allow that data to be transferred into a prop bet in under 12 seconds, before the next play goes off."

Former Memphis football player Kosha Irby is announced at the new president of Memphis' new Alliance of American Football league team during a press conference at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. (Photo: Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

The in-game betting option is part of a three-year pact that makes MGM Resorts the official sports betting sponsor and exclusive gaming partner of the AAF. The agreement with MGM comes in the wake of the May 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that effectively gives state legislatures the ability to legalize sports wagering at their own discretion.

“The Alliance will do some special things in terms of on-field competition,” Irby said. “Our digital overlay on top of that will then allow us to introduce a different way to consume the game to fans. The vision is there. There’s a long-term play.

“Don’t mistake this, at the end of the day, we are a tech company running a football league. It’s not just about rolling out a football and saying, ‘Go play.’ We will have that initially, but with digital and gaming and everything we’re doing on the back end, there’s a longer methodology at play here.”

The players that make up the AAF are signed to 3-year, non-guaranteed deals worth $250,000, with the opportunity for bonuses based on the amount of action they receive via prop bets. For instance, a quarterback or running back will in all likelihood be subject to more bets than an offensive lineman, which will result in more money for them.

AAF contracts will include state-of-the-industry health insurance and education stipends for any player who completes a year in the league.

Lewis, like Irby, brims with confidence when discussing the AAF’s potential.

“There certainly has to be a demand for the product,” he said. “And a lot of things have to fall into place. But I think the timing and placement of it are right where they need to be. That time of year and there are things that can be exciting and innovative. I think there’s potential for it to take off.”

“I’ve always got to curtail my optimism,” Irby said. “Because, at the end of the day, we are a startup. But you look at the landscape of where sports is right now and where technology is right now, we believe the things we're doing will put us on the forefront of what's to come.”

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Under cloudy Texas skies, defensive teammates of the Memphis Express football team huddle up for a prayer after morning practice during training camp. Players with the eight teams of the Alliance of American Football league are in San Antonio for a month-long training camp. The Express will play their first game Sunday, Feb. 10th in Birmingham. Mark Weber, The Commercial Appeal

Former Tiger football player Latarius Brady studies a playbook in the team hotel while attending Memphis Express training camp in San Antonio, Texas. Brady, a 2016 graduate of UofM hopes to make the Express 55-man roster and continue his football career. Mark Weber, The Commercial Appeal

Former Tiger football player Latarius Brady studies a playbook in the team hotel while attending Memphis Express training camp in San Antonio, Texas. Brady, a 2016 graduate of UofM hopes to make the Express 55-man roster and continue his football career. Mark Weber, The Commercial Appeal

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